Cybercrime a growing concern for businesses, security spending up at 40% of UK firms

Fears of business cybercrime have become a major concern for many companies around the world, and the UK is no exception. A recent UK survey found security spending was on the rise at four out of ten firms. The task is also increasingly time-consuming, with IT staff claiming to spend nearly one day a week dealing with security issues.

The survey of 100 CIOs at businesses in the UK found that four out of 10 had increased security spending a aimed at preventing business cybercrime in the past three years. Of those, 55% had increased spending by more than a quarter. The survey was conducted by IT recruiter Robert Half Technology.

Almost all – 97% – admitted that managing IT security was now “a challenge”. The CIOs surveyed claimed to spend nearly a quarter of their time – 23% – managing security.

Phil Sheridan, Robert Half Technology’s Managing Director, says: “The threat to IT security is persistent and growing, prompting UK organisations to invest more time and money into managing risk. CIOs themselves are now spending more than one full day a week focused exclusively on IT security.”